CNN's Fareed Zakaria to Speak in Pittsburgh on "The Real Solution to the Middle East Crisis" Oct. 13

Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS," will speak on "the real solution to the Middle East Crisis" in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009 at 8 p.m. at the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland.

A leading authority and scholar on the global economy, geopolitics and international relations, Zakaria will be introduced by Paul O'Neill, former U.S. Treasury Secretary. His appearance is sponsored by the Pittsburgh Middle East Institute.

Zakaria is host of CNN’s international affairs program, “Fareed Zakaria GPS” which airs on Sundays worldwide. He writes a regular column for the U.S. edition of Newsweek and the Washington Post, and is the author of several books, including “The Future of Freedom,” and his recent best seller, “The Post-American World.”

In 1999, Zakaria was named "one of the 21 most important people of the 21st Century" by Esquire magazine. In 2007, his name was included among the 100 leading public intellectuals in the world by Foreign Policy, where he had once served as managing editor. He has received a host of awards and honorary degrees, most recently at Brown University where he was the 2009 commencement speaker.

He serves on the board of Yale University, The Council on Foreign Relations, and The Trilateral Commission. He received a B.A. from Yale and a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard.

“Internationally renowned thinkers like Fareed Zakaria, and last year’s inaugural speaker, Thomas Friedman, promote the mission of the Pittsburgh Middle East Institute by encouraging discussion and greater understanding of the significant issues of our time that impact both our city and the region of the Middle East,” said PMEI founder and president Simin Curtis.

Cost: $50 or $70 (Adults), $25 (Students) plus applicable service fee. For tickets, call 412-394-3353 or go to www.ProArtsTickets.org.

For more information about the Pittsburgh Middle East Institute, go to www.pittsburghmideastinstitute.org.